Suffolk County Police rescue 6 from disabled boat off Long Island

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WEST SAYVILLE, N.Y. — Suffolk County police rescued six people who were stranded in the Great South Bay in gale force winds early Sunday.

Frank Pezzuto, 50, left Cherry Grove on his 25-foot boat around midnight with five employees from his pizza parlor heading for Sayville, police said.

The boat lost power about one mile from the entrance to Brown’s River and began to drift toward the shore. Although Pezzuto set an anchor, it did not hold due to the high winds and waves.

Pezzuto called for help around 1:15 a.m. and officers were able to attach a tow line to their 40-foot patrol vessel, Marine X-ray. The boat was towed to the nearest harbor at Vanderbilt’s Wharf Marina on the Connetquot River in Oakdale with all six passengers on board.

One passenger suffered from seasickness, but all six refused medical attention.

A Gale Warning was in effect for the Great South Bay overnight, with winds gusting to pver 40 mph with 3 to 4-foot breaking waves.